The Chicago Cubs came into the off-season knowing one thing–their rotation needed a jolt. Sure, they got back Shota Imanaga after he opted out and accepted the qualifying offer, but that is just step one in the club’s bigger picture.

Chicago needs more swing-and-miss, more top-end stuff, and more power. So, now, after they missed out on a massive target with Dylan Cease, they are suddenly all in on the pitcher that’s been deemed as the second Yoshinobu Yamamoto—Tatsuya Imai.

According to insiders like Bruce Levine, the Chicago Cubs are pushing for him.

But before we delve into this new target, the massive misstep worth talking about is what went down with Dylan Cease. Levine mentioned that Chicago was one of the seven teams bidding on Dylan Cease. They were serious about it, like “it might happen” serious. But then, the moment the bidding reached $200 million, the Cubs backed out.

Toronto ended up getting Cease for seven years and $210 million, with deferred money—something the Cubs want no part of. But call it a miss or a misstep, it seems to be classic Cubs budgeting.

This budgeting was ultimately what pushed Jed Hoyer right into the arms of the next best arm on the planet—a chase for Imai.

The 27-year-old Japanese ace is projected to land around $154 million and is exactly the type of splash that the Cubs haven’t made since the Yu Darvish deal. Imai is a big market swing, and he is everything this rotation lacks next to Cade Horton and Imanaga.

However Cubs might have a lucky clover by their side, because they won’t have the big market players like the Los Angeles Dodgers in this chase. Not by choice, because everyone knows how much LA loves Japanese players. But because Imai himself has taken himself out of the LA equation.

Imai mentioned that he doesn’t want to join the Dodgers but to beat them. In an interview, he said he would love to play with his countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto, but beating the Dodgers would mean more to him.

“Winning against a team like that and becoming a world champion would be the most valuable thing in my life. If anything, I’d rather take them down.”

Plus, the fit makes sense, given Hoyer has spent years scouting in Japan, and the money is no barrier. This is because Tucker is most likely leaving the Cubs. Now, it remains to be seen if the Cubs can finish the job before Jan 2—because they do have some hurdles, some within and some from outside.

Cubs face two big hurdles in their chase of Tatsuya Imai

If the Chicago Cubs want to make a real run at Imai, then they have to clear two major hurdles. And the kicker is that it might have nothing to do with money. It could all come down to the right-hander’s own preferences that might push Chicago further down the list than they would like.

Imai has openly mentioned that he doesn’t want to join a team with another Japanese player already there. This is not because of ego or the competition, but because he wants to push himself out of that comfort zone.

In an interview with Daisuke Matsuzaka, Imai explained that playing alongside his own countrymen makes things too easy.

“If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right?” he said. “But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival.

And this brings us to hurdle one—Shota Imanaga.

See, the Chicago Cubs already brought him back, and while they see him as a selling point, given the familiarity and the cultural comfort, it seems like Imai sees the opposite of it. He wants to navigate a new league and this new space alone.

Hurdle number two might be the competition from the East Coast giants.

The Philadelphia Phillies, the Yankees, the Mets, and the Boston Red Sox—it seems every one of them is at play. And Ken Rosenthal revealed that Imai is apparently curious and confident about pitching in the big East Coast market.

The Phillies make sense for him, given they have an elite rotation and a front office willing to spend. For now, the Cubs are not out of the race, but if they want to bring in a pitcher with an eye-watering 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts overseas last season, they need to convince him big time.